Overview from GAK

The Carry-On from Blackstar was created in collaboration with celebrated guitar makers Gordon Smith. Most of the folks over at Blackstar are guitarists and wanted a portable instrument that they could take with them on their travels - the Carry-On is the result! Their main goal was to create a compact guitar that feels and sounds like a full-sized model and we reckon they’ve nailed it with the Carry-On.

Premium Features In A Portable Package

Solid sustain, beautiful resonance and stable tuning are derived from the single-piece Okoume (Gaboon Mahogany), set-neck and string-through construction. The neck and the body are made from the same billet, which means a uniform wood grain across the guitar as well as free and even reverberation. It’s the kind of craftsmanship that you’d find expect on a much more expensive instrument.

A wealth of tones are available thanks to the volume/tone controls and the mini-humbucker which is coil-splittable.

To top it all off, the 1:14 ratio tuners make the Carry-On’s tuning rock-solid and effortless.

The Carry-On is a fantastic solution for on-the-go musicians that miss being able to practice when they’re travelling and with the different Carry-On packages, you can enjoy a great guitar tone wherever you find yourself!

Inspiring Tone - Anywhere You Go

This version of the Carry-On series is the ideal choice if you already own a portable rig that you can plug the guitar in to. It comes with a Blackstar Carry-On guitar in a choice of two high-quality finishes - Vintage White with tortoiseshell binding and scratchplate and Jet Black with cream binding and a black scratchplate.

If you already have a portable amp or a headphone amp that you like then the Carry-On is offered as just the guitar and a fitted gig bag. However, if you’re looking for a great value bundle that gives you everything you need to start jamming on the road (or at the airport) then you can upgrade to the versions that come with the amPlug2 FLY or the Fly3 Bluetooth.

Overview by Blackstar

The Carry-on travel guitar is a portable travel-sized guitar that plays and feels like a serious full-sized instrument. Constructed using single piece Okoume bodies and necks and featuring a coil-splittable mini humbucker, the Carry-On travel guitars combine true tone and feel beyond their size. The guitar is supplied with either an award-winning amPlug 2 FLY Guitar headphone amp in the Carry-On Standard pack or an award-winning FLY 3 Bluetooth mini amp with the Carry-On Deluxe pack. Getting great tone on the go is now available to all travelling guitarists.

Using a single billet of wood for the body and neck means that the grain will be an even match across the instrument and allows the guitar to reverberate freely and evenly – a glue join would have been a barrier to reverberation. The body and neck are made from single prices of Okoume, a bright, lightweight tonewood with a more open grain than mahogany.

Most of the Blackstar team are guitarists and we travel regularly, whether on business or on holiday with our families. We know how frustrating it is to be without an instrument for days on end, when you have the time and headspace to play. For ages we have been talking about the possibility of developing a travel guitar that truly captures the sound and feel of a full sized electric. Hooking up with our close friends and guitar aficionados at Gordon Smith Guitars UK allowed us to design the travel guitar of our dreams – the result is the Carry-on!